A Letter of De-Acceptance

This morning T. woke me up with the remark that there was a letter lying on the box beside my bed, probably from the FU. So I trundled off to the kitchen, opened it, and found inside a notice that I haven't been accepted to a minor's (Modulangebot) programme in History. Having read dozens of times that if one is not accepted to both the major and minor, one cannot study that year, I knew what this means instantly: most likely, another year of waiting until I can study.

Oddly enough, I am notcrestfallen. I am most amused at the absurdity of having been accepted only to be de-accepted by a letter that was rendered anticlimactic by its very tardiness. The website said that the FU will reply to applications by the end of the September; today is October 9th, and the deadline for immatriculation is October 16th. And, in another sign of the non-user-friendliness of the whole admissions process, the letter that told me that I was accepted to study English did not mention any separate acceptance letter for my chosen minor, and merely gave detailed directions for the immatriculation process. I might have immatriculated myself already by this time, and then what would have happened! For heaven's sake, admitting people to a university and keeping them properly informed about the process is not rocket science!

I admit that my first reaction was even relief, because the prospect of clearing up my English qualifications with Applications and Admissions hasn't much appealed to me. But, of course, that small effort cannot outweigh the likely benefits of studying again, and I shouldn't be an indolent wimp.

Another reason why I'm not in the least inclined to weep is that, due to unhappy experience, I have adopted this philosophy: "expect nothing and you won't be disappointed." It has made me a terrible wet-blanket, but here it pays off; I've always been thinking, even after the first letter of acceptance, of my studying as an uncertain contingency, subject to cancellation if the immatriculation doesn't go through properly. This doesn't mean that I didn't want to study at the FU very badly, but I can accept obstacles with equanimity.

At any rate -- one article of hope remains; I am, the letter helpfully informs me, on a waiting list of 29 students, and I am number 14. If I still don't get in, I have been mentally prepared for months to search for an apprenticeship or other job instead, and to get a "Gasthörer," or auditing, card so that I can listen to lectures at the university either way. Nil desperandum!

P.S.: I did phone the Barmer health insurance company yesterday, and papers to get student insurance are underway.